Bleeding of Thrus-Sanguur
"Despite what we may think, Yaanari are not a race which uses extermination and slaughter without a second thought. Not because they think it is repugnant, but for the profits they would lose with the deaths of thousands of possible new slaves. After all, no Yaanari wants to imitate Orcnaas "The Doomed" and his campaign" -Extract from "Customs and Curiosities of species beyond the Entente", by Kisaan'Orrutu- While most of the galaxy think of the Yaanari as heartless corsairs and slavers who care nothing for the prey they hunt down and chain, the truth is they are just half right about their statement. In the Yaanari league, profit means everything and so a slaver will take just enough care of those he or she has captured, if only until they are sold to someone else. Corsairs who raid unknown planets also do that with great care as not a single one of them want to imitate the failed expedition of Orcnass the "Doomed". At the dawn of the 23rd century, the Yaanari, like so many other races, began to explore the stars. The process was slow at first, as no-one wanted to lose precious new space-faring ships in accidents or blind trips into dangerous systems. Because of this, the first journeys out of Yaanari league space were short and swift and never done without first being certain that there was profit to be gained with that expedition. The journey of Orcnass marked the end of that mindset and the golden age of Yaanari expansion across the stars. Eager to colonize new territories and get more slaves, corsair bands and league-funded expeditions captured and colonized those planets nearest to their territory, something which also speeded up the event of contact between the Yaanari and other races, like the Alir, Karthemas or humans. Prelude Orcnass and his gamble Last of a family of six sons and three daughters, Orcnass Diztlen was not expected to be an important member of Yaanari society. While bold and prone to act, he lacked the resources and influence so valuable in league society (and any other for that matter). Worse still, Orcnass was also someone who liked to take risks, a trait not liked by the Yaanari of the time or the bankers who decided to back him up during his many failed attempts to create a small empire for himself in Yaan. As time went on and debts continued to grow, Orcnass realized he really did not have any future in the homeworld of the Yaanari. Tales of the wonders and dangers of the universe made him use what little wealth and influence he had left to equip an expedition to find a planet the Yaanari could later use and exploit at their leisure. Taking the crew, supplies and weapons quickly so his many creditors could not take his hide before he left, Orcnass left Yaan with a crew of 700, half of them engineers and crew needed to man the ships. The rest were, like Orcnass, desperados and Yaanari fleeing from the law. Still, most of them were hardened warriors (one of the reasons why they still were alive) and came equiped with all manner of weapons and even a few armed transports. These would be invaluable during the years and conquest to come. The Realms of Thrus-Sanguur Covered in rivers and fertile valleys, the planet of Thrus-Sanguur was a perfect place for life to grow and thrive in. The Tlaxcans, tough and bulky reptilian creatures with hard shell armor on both front and back, were the race's dominating species when the Yaanari arrived. Still going through their own "medieval age", the Tlaxcan still had not discovered the wounders of black powder of tried to join forces to become a single, united civilization. Still, while lacking technology, the Tlaxcan were promising architects who build immense cities by the shore of their beloved rivers, creating channels to use as roads to swim through and get to places quicker. The largest metropolis, Qurax, had before the arrival of the Yaanari a total population of 400,000, something outstanding for a species of less than 40 million individuals. At the start of 2200, war had been rageing on between different cities and alliances. The Tlaxcan Confederation of the Golden Rivers, rulers of trade and owners of a great fleet, were rivals of the Empire of Coatl and it was strange for a year to go by without a single skirmish on their frontiers. The red city of Qurax was feared by its neighbours, as it slowly expanded its dominions, turning many minor towns and villages into "protectorates" which paid the High King in gold and soldiers. The free cities of Curaxtal were amongst the newest of the empires fighting for control over Thrus-Sanguur. After seceding from the Confederation of the Golden Rivers, the Tlaxcan of the Curaxtal valley had fortified their defences and trained their armies to face all the other realms trying to consume them. Veterans of hundreds of battles, the phalanxes of Curaxtal were amongst the strongest to be found in the planet. Even so, the council ruling the free cities still feared what would happen if two or more stronger empires made an alliance to shatter and divide the free cities between themselves. Because of this them, more than any other Tlaxcan, were more eager than anyone to get help, no matter where it came from. Orcnass arrives Meeting Morasuma Surprised and excited about the discovery of so many resources and even living beings, Orcnass wasted no time landing her small fleet on one of the valleys near the Red city of Qurax. To show his power and earn the respect and fear of the city, Orcnass used one of the six Harrier troop transports in his fleet to fly over the streets of the red city in plain sight of thousands of stunned citizens. High King Morasuma, at the sight of such a thing, saw great danger in the newcomers...but also opportunity. Orcnass and his troops were greeted warmly by the High King and his nobles. Each Yaanari was showered with gifts, feeding that way their greed while the leaders of both factions began to take the measure of one-another. More primitive than the Yaanari, Morasuma still was no fool. After a while, he understood there was nothing divine or otherwordly about the huge, strangely-armed creatures before him. When the sun bathed the city streets, they began to sweat, when a fly came near them, they swatted it away like any Tlaxcan. Still, there was nothing ordinary when it came to what they wore or were armed with. High King Morasuma did not think it twice. As he fed the Yaanari's ego, he asked them for assistance in some matters of territory and expansion. Growing weary of the red city's conquests, an alliance of minor cities and towns had created an army which had just entered the borders of Qurax. Should Orcnass and his Yaanari assist the High King, they would be given even more gifts. Deep in debt, and knowing the eagerness of the rest of his crew, Orcnass agreed. Red Valley Marching alongside the levies and trained soldiers of the red city, Orcnass took two of his Harriers and 100 Yaanari to battle, leaving the rest to stay near the ships and gain as much information as possible about the planet and its resources. While that happened, Orcnass took in the fighting style of most of the Tlaxcan. Moving in heavy blocks of infantry armed with great, thick shields and long, sturdy spears, battles between Tlaxcan phalanxes were always a slow grind, the natural armor of each warrior making it quite difficult to slay him. During his first skirmishes against enemy Tlaxcan, ORcnass also discovered that even Yaanari rifles needed at least a couple of shots to down a single soldier, their natural resilience making them quite hard to slay. Neverthless, the battle of the Red Valley still became a one-sided affair thanks to the interference of the Yaanari. Staying at a distance, rifles and Harrier heavy guns soon created gaps in the enemy phalanx, bringing much confusion and fear as the troops of the Red City, also fearful of the strange sounds and destructive power of the weaponry of their new allies, charged forwards, easily shattering the enemy formation before they could form again or pull back. As payment for his services, Orcnass not only asked for resources, but also half of those Tlaxcan captured by the Red City. After some bartering, the number was decreased to one third which was soon taken to the ships alongside all treasure gained and brought back to Yaan. With that, Orcnass not only wished to pay debts, but also gain more troops and weaponry. He would play the part of a mercenary for now. Once he was powerful enough however, he swore there would be a new High King. Campaigns New friends Fearful of a possible alliance between the Confederation of the Golden Rivers and the Empire of Coatl, the High king did what would turn out to be one of the worst choices of his reign. Knowing of how the free cities were all which stood between these two powerful relams, he sent Orcnass and his small force to the valley, to prevent the free cities from falling under enemy control. Orcnass arrived just in time to lift the siege of the largest city of the free alliance. Coming from above with his harriers and from the trees with his infantry, the small Yaanari force brought so much chaos to the besigeing army that the defenders sallied out and pushed them back, slaughtering nearly two thousand foes and capturing just as many. Instead of explaining who had sent him however, Orcnass played the part of merciful liberator, convincing the free cities that he had come to save them from their foes. Desperate for help and with most of their commanders and leaders dead during the siege, Orcnass was given the title of "Champion of the cities" and given command of the veteran, well-trained phalanxes of the valley. Slow and primitive as they were, Orcnass still felt thankful for them. As some of his warriors began to grow sick due to new diseases they were not prepared for, reinforcements were becoming more and more important with each passing month. Helped by a Tlaxcan captain by the name of Uranoos, Orcnass turned his diverse force into a deadly combat unit which soon became the terror of any army who dared to stand on its way. First, the Yaanari and their harriers fired at the enemy phalanx from front and sides, withering them down while the troops of the free cities calmly advanced forwards. Then, once they were close enough, they roared and charged at full speeds, ramming into the remains of the enemy formation and forcing it to flee. One year of campaigns and siegesmade Orcnass a master in this kind of warfare. Battles were often so quick and bloody, the Empire and the Confederation finally chose to remain behind their walls. Disease and hunger however, made it so this strategy only sped up the conquest. More enemy soldiers began to die due to hunger and disease than they did before the fire weapons and spears of Orcnass' growing army. The Yaanari grew so much in power and popularity in fact that, just one year and a half after landing in the planet, he was "chosen" as ruler of the free cities, a title he earned in no small part thanks to the high number of soldiers who supported him. Betrayal Seeing how his previous ally continued to grow and grow in strenght, High King Morasuma began to plot a way to get rid of the Yaanari and his troops. Secretly, he built alliances with previous foes, strenghtened his armies and planned new tactics to face Orcnasse's seemingly-invencible force. During a march back to his new territories, Orcnass and his forces were victims of a surprise attack made not only by remains of the Confederation and Empire's armies, but also troops from the Red City itself. Trapped in a narrow valley, Orcnass had to fight his way through to safety, Yaanari and Tlaxcan both died, including what few reinforcements Orcnass had managed to get in previous months. All his harriers, half his Yaanari troops and one third of his veteran phalanx died in the valley, surrounded and butchered by the vengeful alliance. Still, be it thanks to skill or blind luck, Orcnass still managed to find a way out of the trap and run to one of his nearby forts to rest and recover his losses. The battle had not only been costly when it came to troops. Orcnass treasure (which he carried everywhere to make sure not a single coin or mineral was stolen) was captured by the alliance, leaving the Yaanari leader once more penyless. Even worse, news arrived that the plague which previously only seemed to affect his foes had finally begun to appear on his own territories. With each passing week, less and less Tlaxcan wer available to fill the holes in his army's weakened phalanx. Luckily for him, the alliance was not able to enjoy their victory for long. Reinforcements from Yaan were about to arrive. True reinforcements Before the disaster in the later known as the "Valley of the wasted gold", Orcnass had sent ships filled with resources and slaves to Yaan not only to pay his creditors, but also invite them to give him more money and resources to continue with his operations. True ships of war with true soldiers were then equiped and sent to Thrus-Sanguur, turning the tide of the war back to the Yaanari side. Once more in debt, Orcnass wasted no time using these reinforcements to counter attack and drive his foes back. An irregular war ensued, with enemy Tlaxcan using forests and fields with tall crops to hide and ambush the Yaanari forces. To counter this, some captains began to burn the land they took, bringing more famine and death to the Tlaxcan's increasingly smaller population. By the time Orcnass managed to stop the destruction, it was to late. Tens of thousands of future workers and slaves were dead and with them, the Yaanari chief's hopes of paying back his increasingly-annoyed creditors. Fall of the red city Lord Hishibalpa, one of the few remaining Tlaxcan lords who dared to challenge the Yaanari advance, met the invading forces one last time near the capital of the Confederation of the Golden Rivers. Using hit and run tactics, the Yaanari slowly surrounded and massacred the Tlaxcan's spent and sick forces, some of whom collapsed due to exhaustion rather than enemy fire. Two hours after the last shot was fired, the last remains of the defending force surrendered. Victorious, the Yaanari army rushed to the Red City, their heads filled with stories of the riches the first Yaanari found within its walls. Instead, they found the streets empty, except for rivers of rotten corpses of young and old. The High King himself died two weeks after his victory in the valley of the wasted gold, the disease caring little about crowns or titles and, alongside hunger, it exterminated the Tlaxcan race. Moving through the ghost city, Orcnass did not felt like a victorious conqueror. His plans for ruling over the Tlaxcan were gone, his loyal troops dead or now following other captains who could actually pay them. Defeated and fearing for his life, he gave the settling rights to the planet to one of the important leagues before dissapearing from history. Category:Yaanari Category:Battles